


A song for every sacrifice (That left your broken hands as cold as ice)

by Coal_burningbright



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: A soulmate au but i try my best to make it queer, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bisexual Skye | Daisy Johnson, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Past Andrew Garner/Melinda May, Terrigenesis (Marvel), but it is important, but like, only if youre soulmates tho, soulmates can be platonic, that's not highlighted here, the author uses the thin guise of a soulmate au to examine the ways the government exploits citezens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-20 21:48:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coal_burningbright/pseuds/Coal_burningbright
Summary: Most people never meet their soulmate (or soulmates), seven billion people is a lot after all. If you do meet your soulmate you have to go through the process of registering with the government and promising not to use your powers against the innocent and all that.Or: Daisy Johnson finds her soulmate, tries to pass her finals, and loses faith in the government
Relationships: Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 19
Kudos: 15





	1. We were full of life (We could barely hold it in)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from After All by the altogether and chapter titles from mars by sleeping at last  
> Updated every Saturday

Daisy was ten when she asked her mother what a soulmate was. Her mother had taken a moment to think before she answered, “Your soulmate is the other half of you, someone the universe always intended for you to meet.” She’d gone quiet again then, “If you meet your soulmate you must not tell anyone you don’t trust with their life.”

-

Daisy learned about soulmates in school in eighth grade. A government spokesperson came in and explained that some people had some sort of bond with another person and when the two touches they would both gain powers. The spokesperson went on to explain the registration process and how rare it was for people to meet each other but the class had stopped paying attention at that point, all daydreaming of having powers and someone who loved them. 

A million questions were floating around Daisy’s head that day. Were her parents soulmates? Were her birth parents? Would she have a soulmate?

“Mom?” 

“Yes?” Melinda looked at her daughter who was bouncing slightly, “What do you need?”

“Do you think I’ll find my soulmate?”

Melinda signed, then stopped washing dishes. “Let’s talk about this in your room.”

The two of them walked to sit on Daisy’s bed and then Melinda spoke again. “I hope you never do, and I don’t mean that in a bad way.”

Daisy leaned forward, curious. “Why?”

“You know how before I was with Dad I was married to someone else?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well he was my soulmate,” Daisy’s eyes widened. “His name was Andrew Garner.”

“What happened?” Daisy asked, afraid of what would happen next. 

“Well we were friends for a while before we touched, and then we did and suddenly I was encased in rock. When I came out I could feel others emotions.” 

“Wow!” Daisy had no idea her mom had powers. “Wait, does this mean you can tell when I lie?”

Melinda laughed at her daughter, “Daisy, I love you, but even without my powers you could never lie to me.”

“Hey!”

“Now back on track. Well Andrew came out and he was a monster. He was big and destructive and murderous. He could control the changes at first and then they figured out he was still in transition.”

Daisy rubbed her hands on her arms, “what did that mean?” She asked nervously.

“It meant soon he would be the monster forever.”

“Does that mean you don’t really love Dad?”

Melinda laughed, “I do love him, so, so, so, so, much.” She punctuated each ‘so’ with a poke to one of Daisy’s ticklish spots, until her daughter was laughing. “So many people are together who aren’t soulmates, and if you want to I’m sure you’ll meet some nice person someday and fall in love and they’ll love you right back.”

Daisy thought about the pretty girl in her class and smiled. 

-

Daisy was twenty now, finishing up her computer science degree. She’d dug into the trail to find her birth parents a few weeks ago and now it seemed she was hitting the end of it. 

“Come on,” she hissed at the screens in front of her. “Work with me here.” 

The computer did not respond but it did seem to be working faster. 

That night Daisy laid all the information out in front of her. 

Cal and Jiaying. Soulmates. Killed for illegal activity and refusing to register. 

Her head spun from the weight of it all. Why hadn’t they registered? They had had her, had someone to stay for. She knew her parents loved her but still, to learn that there were two people so against the idea of registering they would die and leave an orphan behind. 

Daisy had always hated people saying they wouldn’t register, people so obsessed with “freedom”. She had known a kid back in high school who refused to get a driver's license because “that’s how they control you.” 

Rogue people with powers went out and became vigilantes or broke into government buildings. Daisy might not fully trust the government but she trusted them enough. 

With a sigh she bundled the papers up and put them in her desk. She half wished she hadn't solved that mystery, that her birth parents had died in some freak accident, not from their own foolishness. It didn’t really matter though, she reassured herself. Her parents were amazing and she loved them.

Still, she resolved to talk about this with her mom.

-

Ugh, two months before graduation and  _ now  _ the school was having “Interdisciplinary future planning sessions” which just meant they were sticking groups of ten seniors together and having them talk about future plans once a week. Daisy thought it was one of the worst ideas Shield had ever had. And that included the Sci-Tech versus Ops tennis match debacle last year.

Daisy walked huffily into her group, she’d much rather be staring at the wall trying to work on her thesis or staring at the wall trying to write a paper. 

“So let’s go around and introduce ourselves.” The faculty member began, and honestly, Daisy didn’t care.

She did zone back in when the person next to her went because she needed to go next, “Hi, I’m Lincoln Capmbell, Pre-med track.”

“‘Sup, I’m Daisy Johnson, tech.”

“Okay now we’ve gotten ourselves introduced we can begin!” Chirped the faculty member whose name Daisy had already forgotten. Kat maybe? “We can go around again and say why we came to Shield and what we plan to do once we graduate next year.” Daisy hated the royal we. She studied Lincoln instead of paying attention to the other group members. She knew like three of their names and that was probably enough. Lincoln was hot in that kind of ‘Cute guy who comes from money” way, with pale skin and blond hair.

“Shield offered me a scholarship to learn straight medical stuff for these years.” He explained on his turn. “They promise next year I can go to the med school of my choice and that’s not an opportunity I’d ever give up.” Daisy almost felt bad, in comparison her story sounded lame. 

“My parents both went here and they have a good computer science program, next year I’ll probably work freelance or something.”

“Good job sharing!” Maybe Kat chirped again. “Now we’ll begin the group bonding part of all this. Who here knows how to play two truths and a lie?”

-

By the time the thirty minute session finally ended Daisy was already dreading next Tuesday night. She did want to get Lincoln’s number though so she stopped him outside class. 

“Hey,” that seemed as good a greeting as any. 

“Hey to you too.” Lincoln cocked his head at her like a golden retriever. “What’s going on?”

“I was just wondering if I could have your number?” Daisy asked, before she could lose her nerve.

“Yeah sure.” Lincoln beamed. “Here, if you pass me your phone I can put my number in and then you can text me so I have yours.” Daisy grabbed her phone and held it out, but when Lincoln’s hand touched hers she felt something weird happen. 

She watched as stone enveloped Lincoln and knew the same thing was happening to her. “Oh, fu-”


	2. We were amateurs at war (Strangers to suffering)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy and Lincoln come out of their cocoons (literally) and try to figure out what to do next

Daisy felt like her body was full of noise, buzzing like a thousand angry bees shaking her bones as the stone coccoon that had enveloped her exploded. This certainly hadn’t been in her plans for today, she mused.

Around her there were fallen rocks everywhere and on the ground was Lincoln, surrounded by arcs of electricity.

The hallway was thankfully deserted, the two of them had been the last to leave the room, and to be honest, no one had wanted to be in the group in the first place. 

Her legs were shaking and as she took a step it felt like her leg was just waking up after she had been sitting on it. Full of pins and needles and burning.

“Daisy?” Lincoln croaked. “I feel like I’m on fire from the inside out.” 

Daisy’s head felt simultaneously the clearest and the foggiest it had ever been full of noise and chaos but also like something in her had clicked. Like she had been running all her life without stretching first and now she could move freely.

“I feel like all my bones are shaking,” she admitted. 

“We should probably- we should probably leave before someone comes to see what all the noise is about,” Lincoln said, gesturing around at the debris around them.

“We need to register too,” Daisy realized. She’d never thought seriously about what she would do immediately after finding her soulmate, but now that she knew why she had lost her parents, well, she wasn’t going to go rogue. 

To Daisy’s surprise, Lincoln looked confused and a bit apprehensive. “Register?”

“Yeah, register.”

Lincoln rubbed his hands together, then stopped when an arc of lightning went out and scorched the pavement. “Let’s talk about this somewhere less public.” 

-

The two of them were in Lincoln’s apartment by the time Daisy actually began processing everything that had happened.  _ She had a soulmate! And powers!  _ This had not been in her plans for senior year. 

Lincoln was sitting on his couch, his hair sticking up with static electricity, while Daisy perched on his counter, cross-legged. She could do worse in a soulmate, Daisy supposed, smiling as she watched Lincoln try to smooth his hair down fruitlessly. 

“So, what next,” Lincoln said, half to Daisy and half to the room itself. “What are we going to do now?”

“Well obviously we need to go and register first, then we can go on with life as normal but like, move in together.” Daisy tilted her head, “Unless, do you have a girlfriend?” She paused. “Or a boyfriend? Or a partner? Sorry for assuming there, I always hate when people do that to me.”

Lincoln gave a half-laugh, like a possessed man. “No, Daisy, I don’t have a partner. And I don’t think we should register.”

Daisy groaned, “You know, the accords clearly state-”

“The accords! What kind of a place requires everyone who meets their soulmate to be categorized and marked like some stray dog? We can figure out these powers, plenty of people have.” Lincoln’s gestures became more animated as he talked and Daisy could see sparks flying up and then burning little holes in the lumpy green couch.

“Ones that want to keep people safe!” Daisy felt like the floor was shaking under her, “There are people who get powers and use them to hurt others- and if we don’t register it won’t be good.” 

Lincoln looked around. “Daisy, cool it before you bring the building down. Are you even hearing yourself? ‘It won’t be good’ what kind of system is enforced with violence?” Maybe the floor was actually shaking then,

“One trying to keep people safe!” Daisy yelled at Lincoln, she could see the pictures on the walls rattling but she didn’t care. “My parents died because they were too stupid or too proud or too whatever it is your reason is, to register! They cared more about that than staying for their baby daughter! So  _ I’m sorry _ if you don’t want to register but it’s literally illegal not to and if you don’t- if you don’t I’ll go by myself and have them send people to bring you in.” She didn’t really mean it, wouldn’t really be able to send people after the golden retriever that was Lincoln, but he had to understand, had to see her side of it.

Lincoln shook his head, “Fine. But if anything bad happens it’s on you.” The couch burst into flames then, and the two of them scrambled to find an extinguisher while the alarm beeped. “Besides, after you tried to quake this building to the ground I’m sure the registry will be coming for us anyway.”

-

The walk to the registry was tense, especially with how Daisy kept feeling a pull to Lincoln. She wanted to hold his hand and tell him it would be okay, that the registry wasn’t so bad, but she knew that would only end in more fighting. 

She hesitated at the steps to the large black building that she had passed so many times before. It took up a whole city block square and only had one metal door. It looked unambiguous but she knew- everyone who was past the age of fifteen knew- that the door could withstand an army trying to break in.  _ Or a Realized soulmate trying to break out _ . Daisy shook her head to clear her thoughts.

She had seen people go in before, of course; Official looking people in dark suits, Realized soulmates who’d gone rogue, newly Realized soulmates who were bursting with power. Still, she’d never expected to be going in herself. 

-

Daisy and Lincoln were ushered through long stark hallways, poked and prodded, then ushered through more hallways. No one had ever mentioned how tedious the registry process was. At the end of it all, Daisy was ushered again to a small white room with a single bed by another woman in a dark suit.

“Tomorrow you can go through the process of figuring out how your powers work and how to control them, please don’t worry, your school has been notified.” 

Daisy lay awake for a while, sorting through the day's events. She wondered how Lincoln was doing, in his cold impersonal room with its white sheets and bare walls.

Over the next week, Daisy felt more tired than she’d ever felt before; when she wasn’t using powers she was studying the rules about Realized soulmates, or exercising, or having more tests done. She wished she had more time with Lincoln but he was being put through his own regime, lightning arcing across his side of the training room while she sent blasts from her palms into a series of targets. 

She couldn’t deny that it felt good to be powerful and to know she had found another part of her soul. 

The research about exactly who had soulmates was spotty- there were a handful of recorded cases of people having more than one soulmate but it was unknown whether they were the outlier or the norm. It was already so rare to find even one soulmate, most people didn’t bother searching for more- if they wanted more partners they just had more partners, no powers needed. 

After eight days Daisy was called into the main office, where the head of Soulmate Affairs in her city worked. He was a muscled man in a dark suit, like so many others she’d seen the past week.

“So, Ms. Johnson,” he began, smiling at her in a way that set her nerves on edge. “You told us you want to work with computers?”

Daisy smiled. “Yeah! There’s so much good I can do and coding has always been second nature to me.” That wasn’t exactly true but this guy didn’t need to know her whole story.

“We’d like to offer you a way you can help in an even greater capacity, serving your country and helping people.” Daisy was intrigued, she knew some programmers were hired by the registry but it was a hard position to get. 

“What would this entail?”

The suited man smiled broadly at her again, “Well you’d be working for us for ten hours a week until you graduate, and then it would be full time. You’d go out into places where we need to intervene and, well, do your thing.” He mimed shooting a blast from his hand.

_ Oh _ . 

“We plan to offer the same thing to your soulmate.”

“Lincoln is going to become a doctor,” Daisy said firmly. 

“Well, we hope he’ll see reason, much as we hope you see reason. You really should work for us, we’ll give you twenty-four hours to decide what you want.”

“Is the pay good?” 

“The pay is very reasonable, yes.” Hmm, well that was a non-answer if she’d ever heard one. 

“Well, I’ll consider it.” Daisy had pictured being a hero sometimes, flying through the air or letting loose fire with a snap of her wrist. She didn’t want that now though. 

“See that you do, and Ms. Johnson?” Daisy had been getting up to leave the office but she turned. 

“Yes?”

“You should understand that we only have your best interests at heart.” Daisy could sense the underlying meaning.  _ It is in your best interests to do as we say _ . 

Daisy was finally able to spend time- real time- with Lincoln, two hours after her meeting. He looked paler and a bit shaky, though that might have been due to the fact he was no longer literally sparking with energy. 

Lincoln gave her a strained smile as he sat down on the couch next to her. They were in a common room just the two of them- except for the people in suits watching, watching, always watching. 

“How are you, Dais?”

“About as well as can be.” 

“Yeah.” Lincoln sighed and held out his hand. “They want me to work for them a bit now and then full time after I graduate.”

“They offered me the same,” Daisy replied, squeezing his hand gently. 

“I told them I planned on going to med school and they said-” Lincoln broke off, rubbing his thumb absently on the back of Daisy’s hand. “They said they hoped I would make the right choice.”

Daisy brushed her hand across her eyes quickly, “I’m sorry Lincoln, this is my fault. I told you to come here and now we’re both suffering the consequences.”

Lincoln squeezed her hand tightly. “You couldn’t have known, at least we know how these powers work and I probably won’t burn this couch down. Even though this sucks at least we have each other.”

It would suck to be without someone through this, having someone else who understood how much this  _ sucked _ was nice. The fact that it was Lincoln was nice too, Daisy felt at home with him, like her heart was beating in sync with his. She knew some soulmate relationships took work, just like any other relationship, but Daisy knew somewhere deep in her soul that she and Lincoln would stay together for many years to come. Or maybe she hoped. Whatever it was she was willing to put in as much work as was needed.

“We can get through this, we can always work a bit for them now and then graduate and go do real jobs.” Daisy was sounding more confident than she actually was and she knew Lincoln could pick up on it. Still, he pulled her in for a hug. 

“We’ll be okay.”

-

When she got home Daisy called her mom. “Should I trust the government with my life?”

“Daisy, you haven’t called me in over a week and those are the first words you say? Not “我愛媽” or “I’m sorry for not calling”? 

Daisy normally would start it all off by saying she was sorry, telling her mother she loved her and missed her, but right now she just needed help. She broke down into tears. “I’m- I’m sorry.” 

Immediately her mom’s tone shifted to one of worry, “Are you okay, Daisy? I’m here for you, just please don’t start calls like that.”

“I don’t know if I’m okay, Mom,” Daisy said honestly. She felt worn out. “I just got out of the registry-”

“What! Daisy Coulson, did you get a soulmate without telling us!” Daisy almost laughed, her mom always called her Daisy Coulson when she did something bad- a habit her father was not fond of.

“I did but now the registry is making it so we basically have to work for them, at least until graduation but maybe longer, and Lincoln is planning to become a doctor-” She ignored the pleased noise her mom made, “And I went to the registry because of how my birth parents died but now it feels like I made the wrong decision, Mom, what do I do?”

Melinda was silent for a moment before she spoke again, “You can’t take back what you did, you can only do the next thing. I know this is hard but you have overcome everything life has thrown at you so far, it will be okay.”

They talked for almost an hour, about Lincoln and the government and then about normal things like what food Daisy wanted her mom to try to make for graduation. (“None! Please, Mom, there’s a reason you’re banned from the kitchen.”)

Daisy Johnson went to class, came home to her boyfriend, studied for finals, and went out in a black suit to save civilians. 

Well, the registry told her she was saving civilians. Right now it seemed more like she was blasting down doors of innocent people or doing training exercises. She could tell Lincoln was unhappy but as the end of the school year grew closer, neither of them had much spare time to think. She sank into bed at night long after the sun had set, exhausted, curling up against the warm (albeit somewhat staticky) lump that was Lincoln. She hoped after graduation they would be able to stop working with the registry and just live. Live as soulmates and as partners and as friends. For now though, she was tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What May wishes Daisy said to her was "I love you, Mom", I used a Cantonese translator so if it's wrong it's not my fault lol.  
> Some information about powers!  
> So powered people are ranked on a scale from 1-10 and the different scales used are based on their types of powers- someone who can sense emotions all the time but not manipulate them would be like a three while someone who can turn into a monster would be a five. People who have strong powers that they can control like Daisy and Lincoln are seen as very valuable assets.
> 
> Please comment if you liked it or if you have anything you want to see! I have the general outline planned but it can be subject to change, also tell me if there are other characters you want to see, etc! I thrive off of comments and wrote this chapter because of a nice comment lol.  
> Thank you so much for reading,  
> Saturn

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please kudos/comment it makes me write faster lol and also makes me very happy


End file.
